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MexA Steak Tacos worthy of regular chorus of praise | Review

Lindsey McClave, Special to the Courier-Journal
Published 3:35 p.m. ET Sept. 27, 2017

Story Highlights

Almost as soon as MexA Steak Tacos opened its doors in the spring of 2016, I heard a regular chorus of praises being sung.

This new addition to St. Matthews’ bustling Lexington Road shopping district seemed to be a perfect fit for the neighborhood with its family-friendly vibe, approachable price point and efficient dine-in and carry-out service. All of these amenities aside, at the end of the day, what truly matters is the quality of the food. I was pleased to find I agreed with the majority of the complements being lauded for MexA Steak Tacos.

MexA’s dining room is compact but not crowded, a quirky combination of tables set with wood and teal chairs making up the seating area. A wall of reclaimed wood offsets the black and white tiles framing the counter area and blanketing the back of the dining space. Light fixtures in varying sizes and hues are hung abundantly from the ceiling, rounding out a colorful and bright fast-casual restaurant aesthetic.

The Pork Pastor and Cheese from MexA Steak Tacos features pork with pastor adobo with cheese, onion, cilantro and diced pineapple on a corn tortilla.(Photo: Matt Stone/The Courier-Journal)

Being fast-casual, orders are taken at the register and delivered to your table when ready. Tacos are cooked to order and served piping hot. MexA prides itself on using fresh tortillas. "Fresh" in this case does not mean made in-house - MexA’s flour and corn tortillas come to them pre-packaged. Fresh does mean each tortilla is given the griddle treatment, swelling and charring just so on the sizzling flattop located behind a glass guard and viewable from just about anywhere in the restaurant. The resulting tortillas are warm and pliable, the exterior perfectly toasted, making for an ideal vessel for MexA’s taco creations.

As the name would suggest, the menu at MexA Steak Taco is almost singularly focused on tacos, each inspired by Owner Lorena Casas-Ostos’ hometown of Monterrey, Mexico, and her travels throughout the country. Carne asada is the filling of choice for tacos in Monterrey and the same can be said for MexA, where sirloin steak is cut into cubes and seared until tender and flavorful, ready to be layered into a warm tortilla and topped with select fillings.

One of MexA’s most signature fillings - and a taco addition I hadn’t experienced before - is ‘crunchy cheese.’ A mound of shredded cheese is placed on the cooktop, melting and browning before steak is added and the disc of burnt cheese is folded over top. This is the key feature in the crunchy cheese taco ($4.19 for one), and it is stellar, adding both texture and richness. The flavor profile of this taco is completed with fresh slices of avocado and MexA’s house pickled red onions, contributing a vinegar bite. The only item missing is a note of spice, but that is what the house salsas are there for. (The habanero sauce added just the right amount of kick when drizzled overtop.)

The crunchy cheese is also found in the caramelo ($7.89), one of the tacos offered on the Pirata section of the menu. Piratas is a style of taco unique to Monterrey and a variation I was unfamiliar with until I visited MexA. A larger tortilla is called for in this case. A layer of beans is smoothed over the surface before being topped with a generous filling of crunchy cheese, sirloin, onions and cilantro. The tortilla is folded over on itself, resembling a quesadilla in format, and garnished with a roasted habanero crema. A single pirata is more than enough for a meal and the caramelo compilation happens to be my favorite of all items sampled at MexA to date.

I’m not quite as fond of the rather ordinary MexA-Nachos ($8), the chips (not made in-house) cut extra thick and lacking that crispy crunch. Garnishes of sirloin, pickled red onions, queso fresco and Mexican crema do little to stand out.

Your money will be better spent on a sampling of MexA’s tacos. The addition of grilled poblano peppers to the sirloin, grilled onions and queso fresco in the poblano taco ($3.99) is lovely, the proportion of pepper to steak just right, allowing the poblano to shine.

Non-beef-eaters have something to choose from as well. The perfectly cooked shrimp taco ($3.99) was my pick over the rather bland and disappointing fish taco ($3.89). The burst of flavor from the pork and pineapple in the pastor and cheese taco ($3.79) rivals the steak tacos and is worthy of a taste.

With over a year of turning out tacos and piratas under its belt, it would seem to me that MexA Steak Tacos has found a happy home in St. Matthews.